An Epidemic of Journal Subscription Cancellations - News - MyScienceWork

"Since the start of 2014, an epidemic of cancellations of scientific journal subscriptions has come crashing down on researchers in France and elsewhere. We take a look at the carnage, whose principal victims are researchers and students ... First of all, the growing disagreement between publishers and groups in charge of negotiations has crystalized these exchanges. A glaring example, and not the least of them, is the case of 'UPMC vs. Science'. This week, the University Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC) announced it was canceling its subscription to the journalScience. According to UPMC’s website, the publisher of the scholarly society AAAS wanted to impose an increase of +100% on the price of its subscriptions (later reduced to 47%) ... At the same time, the University of Paris 5 (Paris Descartes) was cancelling several of its journal subscriptions for budgetary reasons. 34 titles are affected by the university’s cancellations, including the journals of the Nature group. Also concerned are titles of the publishers Wiley and Taylor & Francis, as well as access to Elsevier’s database, Scopus. A total of practically 3,000 journals! ... In France, the consortium for negotiation, Couperin, seems to be encountering similar situations in a significant number of cases this year. Further proof is the saga of 'Couperin vs. APS'. At the end of December, physicists at a large number of French institutions received an email stating the positions of Couperin and of the American Physical Society concerning the ongoing negotiations around subscriptions to Physical Review journals, leaders in the field. Once again, pricing changes are at the origin of the conflict. For the moment, the opponents are at a stalemate, both holding firm in their position.  The APS case is complex, with the publisher stating that it is not asking for an increase in overall price, but a balancing of costs between small and large institutes, such that the latter should take on more of the publishing cost. An honorable intention, if that’s what it is, but from which leads to increases for certain French institutions, reaching33% for the University of Angers and up to 40% for others ... The epidemic doesn’t stop at the French border. In Belgium, too, the pricing proposals of APS are stuck. A petition has gathered 440 signatures since 27 December, demanding reasonable fees for Franco-Belgian universities ... It’s the same fight across the Atlantic. At the beginning of the year, the University of Montreal announced it would be cancelling its subscription to 1,142 journals of the publisher Wiley Online Library by the end of January. The university explains its decision with three main arguments: prices that rise every year from 3 to 6%, ever-increasing budget constraints, and unequal pricing structure between establishments ... Multiple personalities can be seen among institutions and their representatives on several points underlying the current crisis. They want to support open access, but continue to publish in the most prestigious journals. None want to remain dependent on all-powerful publishers, who can impose their prices under the pretext of being indispensible. Nevertheless, not one seems willing to modify its evaluation criteria that push researchers into the race for prestigious publications. When will there be a debate where all parties concerned can express their point of view? ..."